


Ohio Is For Lovers

by thatscalledyes



Series: Lena/Jake/Andy [2]
Category: Black Veil Brides
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-27
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-02-19 00:46:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 16,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2368031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatscalledyes/pseuds/thatscalledyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"How do you do when I'm gone?"</p><p>"I can't make it on my own."</p><p>"You kill me.You know you do, you kill me well. You like it too, and I can tell."</p><p>Sequel to Wretched and Divine</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Soundtrack here: http://8tracks.com/thatscalledyes/ohio-is-for-lovers

_I love you," Is all she heard. "I'll wait for you, but I can't wait forever."_

Lena shot up and put a hand to her forehead. Despite leaving Jake behind, she couldn't bear the thought of him forgetting about her forever. She couldn't explain to him why she was leaving. Even she didn't know for sure why she had just packed up and left. She hadn't heard from Jake in months, and began having this dream about him. It would always end the same way. He would say he loved her but he wouldn't wait for her forever. And that was the most terrifying part of it.

Carson skipped into the room, with Eve following timidly behind. "Tonight's gonna be so great, right?" Carson jumped on the bed, smiling.

Lena rolled her eyes and fell back on her pillow, grabbing the one beside her and putting it over her face so she could avoid Carson's devious grin. "I'm not going." Lena mumbled from underneath the cotton pillowcase.

"You have to go to your own birthday party." Eve pointed out.

Carson grabbed the pillow off Lena's face and threw it to the floor. "Eve's right. And besides, you're turning twenty-one. This is like, the biggest birthday party you'll ever have. Obviously you have to go."

Lena grimaced. She'd only been away from Jake for a few months and she wasn't feeling ready to go out and be around people she didn't know, or knew from a long time ago. She didn't have any friends in Ohio; just Carson and Eve. All of her friends were back in L.A.: CC, Jinxx, Ashley, Jake, Eric and Josie, and... Andy.

Ever since the incident with Andy, she hadn't considered him much of a friend. He hadn't tried to contact her once since she moved back. All of her belongings were still at his house. She had been borrowing Carson's clothes for the past few months since she barely had any of her own. She had asked one of the guys to go to Andy's and get them for her, but they had told her Jake said not to. She confronted Jake about it, despite the fact that she had no desire to speak to him. He simply said he didn't want anyone talking to Andy because of what had happened. It wasn't a very strong alibi at all.

"This party isn't going to be big... will it?" Lena hoped Carson would say exactly what she wanted her to.

"Just a few people, don't you worry." Carson tapped Lena's nose and stood up. "Now get dressed. We have a big night tonight!"

"Carson!" Lena yelled after her friend but she just giggled as she slipped out of the room with Eve following behind as she normally did.

Lena sighed deeply, as she rubbed her eyes. She had known Carson long enough to know what she had hidden up her sleeve.

****

"Have you seen Lena around lately? I've been meaning to talk to her." Andy said.

Jake panicked. "Lena? Oh, she... She actually just went out. I'll let her know you stopped by to see her, though."

Andy gave Jake a weak smile. "Thanks, man." He turned to go but stopped himself. "You know I didn't mean for any of that shit between her and me to happen."

Jake looked down at the floor briefly before looking back at Andy. "I know." He simply stated, forcing his lips into a flat line.

Andy nodded, before turning his back and walking away. Jake let out a breath as soon as Andy was gone. He had been hiding it for months and didn't know how Andy could be so stupid. Lena had been gone for long enough now. What did Andy think? That she coincidentally just happened to be out every time Andy stopped by? Andy still didn't know Lena had left LA, and Jake was the one keeping it from him.


	2. Chapter Two

Much to her surprise, Carson kept her word and didn't invite loads of people to her house for a college type rager like Lena had expected. Instead, to celebrate Lena's coming of age, Carson and Eve took her to a popular night club so she could have her very first sip of alcohol. Well... legal sip of alcohol.

Lena wasn't fond of the whole idea. She would rather just spend her birthday at Carson's with her two best friends, sipping on alcohol until they get drunk. But no, since tonight wasn't just about Lena, she had to tag along.

"I got you a surprise!" Carson shouted over the music and grabbed Lena's hand, pulling her through the crowd.

Lena kept her head down as Carson weaved through the sweaty grinding bodies. They stopped and Lena heard Carson yell "Ta-da!"

Lena looked up to see Josie and Eric standing there holding hands and beaming. "Oh my god!" Lena's whole face lit up with delight at the sight of her two closest friends from LA.

Josie let go of Eric to embrace Lena with a long hug. "We all miss you at the company." Josie admitted, gripping Lena a bit tighter before letting go.

"I'll come back, just... Not for a few more months." Lena said, half smiling. She wanted to return to LA but the thought of Andy and Jake being there made it worth staying in Ohio. Even though the city was bigger and better than where she was, her home town would have to do for the time being.

After about an hour in, everyone had somehow found other things to do and split off. Carson and Eve wanted Lena to dance with them but all Lena really wanted to do was sulk at the bar and silently cry about Jake. He had done so much for her; more than Andy ever had or ever would have. She wanted to see him again, but at the same time, felt as though it wasn't the right time yet.

"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" Someone next to her asked.

Lena looked over and saw a cute guy about her age smiling at her, one elbow resting on the bar and the other hand on his knee.

"Um, yeah. Why not." Lena said, smiling back.

As the bartender passed, the cute guy held up two fingers, indicating he wanted two drinks but never specified which ones. Lena looked at him with a puzzled expression.

He laughed. "Bartender is a friend of mine. He knows what I want."

Lena nodded. "Ah, I see."

"I'm Derek." He held out a hand for her to shake.

Lena smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lena."

"You're a ballerina, aren't you?" Derek caught her by surprise.

"Yeah, how did you..." She trailed off when she saw Derek's facial expression.

The drinks slid down the bar and Derek caught them both, handing one to Lena. "My little sister is practically obsessed with you. You're a new dancer at LADC, right?"

Lena felt flattered and smiled widely. "Yeah, Lena Goldfield." She laughed slightly, amazed at the fact that she already had fans.

"My sister calls you the pretty blonde ballerina." He smiled. "I don't disagree."

 _Jesus, he is smooth as fuck._  Lena thought to herself.

He could see in her eyes that she was into him. Truth is, he was into her, too. He thought she was beautiful and could already see bits of her personality shining through with just a flash of her smile.

"My sister is going to go crazy when I tell her I met Lena, the pretty blonde ballerina." He laughed, smiling through his blue eyes. "I would take you home with me tonight, but I'm not like that. Besides, I want to take you on a real date first."

Lena could feel the fuzzy feelings building up inside her stomach. Derek was a gentleman, gorgeous, and sweet. It was hard to believe he was this perfect but maybe he was what Lena had been looking for all along.

***

"Jake, I know you're hiding something from me." Andy said over the phone.

Jake's heart dropped into his stomach. How did Andy find out? Had one of the guys told him? Did Lena tell him? He became a ball of worry. With Andy now knowing about Lena leaving, Jake knew Andy would try to follow her home to Ohio and fix what he had broken. It was what Andy did when he lost something that he thought belonged to him. But in truth, Lena had never belonged to him. Her heart had always belonged to Jake.

"Andy, listen. She doesn't want to see you." Jake said, trying to convince him to stay in LA.

Andy sighed audibly from the other side of the line. "I know. But you're not going to stop me anymore."


	3. Chapter Three

"I'm coming over, Jake. And when I get there, you're going to let me in and see Lena." Andy demanded.

Jake inhaled to argue back but then stopped. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me, Jake. You're not going to keep me from seeing Lena anymore. I know about your little plan." Andy said. "You two really thought I was stupid enough to believe Lena was coincidentally out every time I stopped by?"

"Uhh..." Jake was at a loss for words. He had no idea what to tell Andy when he got to his apartment.

"I'll be there in 5 minutes. And you and Lena better not pull some sort of shit prank on me, alright? I swear to god, all I've wanted to do was see her and apologize in person but you two think it's funny to keep doing this to me." Andy hung up the phone.

Jake was a little bit shocked at how emotional Andy had gotten ever since Lena left him. But what Jake didn't understand was why. Andy was the one who cheated. If anything, Lena would be the more emotional one.

Jake paced, trying to think of what to tell Andy when he got there. Jake couldn't tell him Lena had gone out because Andy wouldn't believe him. There was a knock on the door.

"Jake, let me in." It was Andy.

Jake opened the door slowly but Andy pushed it open and Jake aside. "Jesus Christ, breaking and entering much."

"Hey, I didn't break anything. You let me in." Andy pointed out. "Where's Lena?"

"She's not here." Jake said, rubbing his arm that got slammed against the wall.

"Fuck you, she's not here." Andy said. "Bullshit."

"Look around, Andy!" Jake raised his voice. "Take a good fucking look around because she's not here!"

Andy spun around to face Jake. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." He mumbled, looking down at the ground.

Andy took a few steps towards him. "Call. Her." He ordered.

Jake sighed, taking his phone out and dialing Lena's number to keep Andy happy. He put it on speaker and listened as it rang.

"Hello?" Lena answered.

"Lena, where the fuck are you?" Andy said, cutting off Jake before he could even speak a single word.

"Jake, is that Andy?" Lena sounded irritated at the sound of Andy's voice.

"Y-Yeah..." Jake's voice quivered.

"Tell him I don't want to talk to him." Lena said.

Jake raised his eyebrows sassily and looked over at Andy. "Well? Did you hear that? She doesn't want to talk to you. Now will you leave her alone?"

"For fucks sake Andy, seriously. I left to get away from you all. I need some time to myself." Lena said.

"Left?" Andy asked, cocking one eyebrow in confusion. "Left where?"

Lena realized quickly that Andy didn't know she had gone back to Ohio. "Just... the next town over to visit a friend." She lied. "I wanted to get away from all the drama for a bit."

"When are you coming back?" Andy asked eagerly.

Lena sighed. "I don't know, Andy." Her voice sounded forceful. "I'll be back soon." With that she let her finger find the end button and dismissed Andy and Jake.

"You know what you need?" Carson swung her arm around Lena's shoulders.

Lena rolled her eyes. "What?"

"A night out!" Carson exclaimed.

Lena stopped walking. "Carson, we _just_  went out the other night for my birthday."

Carson slid over to Lena. "Yeah, but you didn't have any fun."

Lena thought back to that night. "I did too have fun. I met Derek. And he was very nice and sweet, and cute."

Carson looked at Lena as she sat in one of the bar stools at the island in her kitchen. "Has he called you since?"

Lena hung her head. "No..."

Carson hopped off the stool and grabbed Lena's hand. "Exactly. Which means you, me and Eve need to go out and have some real fun tonight. Let's go to the Millionaires show!"

Lena groaned. "Carson, those two girls are like the female version of Blood on the Dance Floor."

Carson turned around while still walking backwards towards her room. "One: they're actually hot unlike Dahvie and Jay and two: their music is catchy and makes you want to have fun rather than stab yourself in the eye with a fork."

Carson dragged Lena into her room and sat her down on the bed. Lena watched as Carson flipped through clothes in her closet, occasionally taking a dress out to look at it and then scrunching her face up as she put it back.

Once Carson had found outfits for both of them, she dragged Lena into the bathroom. "Neon paint. It's going to make us look hot, and make us look like we came to have fun." Carson said as she smeared two lines of bright pink paint on Lena's cheeks.

"You really think this is a good idea?" Lena questioned.

Carson dragged her fingers across her own cheeks, making two lines of bright yellow on each side. "Of course I do."


	4. Chapter Four

Carson cheered loudly beside Lena as the Millionaires took the stage. Eve stood on the other side with her hands clasped behind her back and looking around at everyone jumping around with their middle fingers in the air, or downing beers like it was water. she gave Lena a small smile when she caught her looking at her.

"Are you having fun?" Lena asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Sure!" Eve said enthusiastically.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Are you really having fun?" She put a hand on her hip.

Before Eve could answer, Carson grabbed Lena and spun her around. "Come on! Jump with me!" Carson shouted over the thumping music.

"Carson, I'd really just like to go home now." Lena admitted.

"We'll go as soon as they're done with their set, promise." Carson smiled.

"No," Lena shook her head. "I mean go home. I want to see my family."

Carson felt guilty for keeping Lena from her family but she honestly thought Lena had come back to Ohio to get away from Andy and the other boys. Carson thought the best way to get over a guy was to spend time with your best girl friends. She could see the sadness written on Lena's face and pulled her into a hug.

From over Lena's shoulder, she saw exactly who she had been waiting for to show up all night. A wide smile spread across her face and she broke the embrace. "Lena!" Carson exclaimed. "Look behind you!"

Lena turned to see Derek walking towards them. A wide smile spread across her face also. She never thought she would see or hear from him ever again. "How did you know I would be here?" She shouted over the music.

"A little bird told me." He laughed, glancing at Carson.

Lena turned and hugged Carson again. "Thank you so much for this!" She squeezed her friend tightly.

"Okay, okay!" Carson tried to push Lena off her gently. "Go be with your man! And have fun!"

Eve slid next to Carson's side as she watched the two lovers walk away and enjoy the show together. "You know what you did was wrong, right?" Eve said, attempting to make Carson feel guilty for hurting Lena's feelings.

"All I did was tell him not to call her for a few days so I could surprise her." Carson admitted. "That's all."

Eve ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, but you know how Lena can get. It's dark in her mind. She always thinks of the worst possible situations but doesn't let anyone know how upset she really feels."

Carson was tired of hearing Eve's guilt trip. "Okay, Eve, thank you for that. But she's with Derek now. Will you just let it be, now?"


	5. Chapter Five

Andy chewed on his fries anxiously as he thought of the day Lena would return. It could be tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year. All he could think about was her. He realized he had been an ass to her. If he hadn’t been so tempted by Juliet, none of this would have happened. He knew it was all his fault and he couldn’t take it back now.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?” Ashley asked, noticing Andy’s serious thinking face.

He shook his head. “Lena.” He sighed her name, letting it slip between his teeth. “I want her to come home.”

“She is home.” Ashley spilled, forgetting about the whole ‘don’t tell Andy where Lena is’ deal.

Andy’s head shot up. “What?”

“Yeah,” Ashley took a bite out of his burger. “She’s back in Ohio.”

Andy stood up from the booth and began to walk away, infuriated that Jake had known all along but never told him.

“Do you want me to get this to go?” Ashley called after him. Andy pushed through the glass door and ran down the sidewalk. “Don’t worry, I got it…” He mumbled to himself.

Andy stopped running when he got to the corner of the street. He rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He backed up against a brick wall and lit a cigarette to calm his rage. He felt his pockets for his phone and slipped it out resting it in his palm and called Jake.

“Hello?” Jake answered, unsuspecting.

“You fucking douche!” Andy shouted at him through the receiver.

“Whoa, Andy calm down.” Jake said, trying to soothe Andy.

Andy gripped his phone in his hand tightly. “You knew where she was all along and you never told me? How could you?!”

“What are you talking about?” Jake said, attempting to sound clueless.

“You’re full of shit, Jake.” Andy gritted his teeth. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. Lena flew back to Ohio?”

“Shit…” Jake muttered to himself.

“Shit is right, Jake.” Andy said, hearing Jake curse to himself. “I’m taking the next flight out. You’re not stopping me anymore.”

“I’m not letting you go by yourself. My heart is in Ohio, so I’m going, too.” Jake said.

“Where are we going?!” CC exclaimed when he walked into the kitchen just in time to over hear Jake’s conversation with Andy.

Jake covered the speaker with his hand. “Andy and I are going to Ohio for a bit.”

“Oooh! I want to go to. And I bet Jinxx and Ashley would love to go, too.” CC smiled.

Jake rolled his eyes. “You’re not going alone, Andy. We’re all going.”


	6. Chapter Six

"Andy!" His mother called from the kitchen. "I need you to run to the grocery store for me."

"But Mom!" Andy whined back, not taking his eyes off GTA 5 playing on his TV screen. He and Jake were in battle mode and he wasn't about to let anyone, not even his mother, mess up his chances of winning.

"Andrew!" His mother yelled back sternly.

He paused the game in frustration. "I have friends over, Mom. Can't you just go?"

"Who do you think the one cooking all this food for your friends is, huh?" She challenged.

His dad walked into the living room and stood behind the couch. "Andy stop acting like a bratty teenager. We didn't raise you like this. And besides, you're twenty-three years old already. It's time you start acting like it."

"I'll go!" CC raised his hand slightly, beginning to stand up. Andy's mom appeared in the doorway to the living room, wringing her hands with a dish towel.

"CC, honey, you don't have to do that. Andy is the one who should go." She gave her son a glare.

CC was already up and headed towards the door. "It's cool Mrs. B, I can go. Just give me a list of things to get and I'll be on my way!" He smiled widely and Andy's mom sighed, escaping into the kitchen to jot down a quick list for CC.

"You're a sweet boy, CC." She said, handing him the list and giving him a sympathetic smile.

CC shrugged. "Hey, Andy's family is my family."

***

Once at the grocery store, CC began to question why exactly he had agreed to go shopping for Andy's mom. He had no idea where anything in the store was, and he had no idea what brands they liked. He furrowed his eyebrows while scanning the list in his hands and pushing the cart down the aisle.

Suddenly, his cart hit another and he dropped the list and looked up. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed, rushing over to help the girl he ran into. He lent her a hand and picked her up off the floor.

"It's no big deal." She laughed slightly, brushing the dirt off the back of her pants.

She looked up at him and he became entranced by her blue eyes and dual colored hair with bangs that swooped across her forehead. She had on a v-neck t-shirt, drawing his eyes to her chest subconsciously.

As he realized he was staring at her boobs, he shook his head and broke his gaze. "Uh, yeah , sorry again..." He walked back over to his cart.

"What's your name?" She asked.

He stopped and turned around, gazing at her shyly. "Oh, I'm CC. It's short for Christian Coma."

She giggled. "Oh, I know you! You play in Black Veil Brides, don't you?"

He smiled. Someone had recognized him in public. "Yeah, that's me! What's your name?"

"Eve." She blushed. "I'm Lena's friend." She said, knowing that he would know exactly who Lena was.

CC's eyes lit up. "Really?!" His smile widened into a huge grin. "Oh my god, this is so great!"

"It is?" Eve asked, as CC ran up to her and grabbed one of her hands.

"We should all do something together! You, me, Ashley, Lena, Jake, Andy, Jinxx, Jake--" CC started listing everyone off.

"And Carson! I'm sure she would love Ashley." Eve mentioned.

"Carson!" CC exclaimed. "Yeah, sure! We should all go--"

"Bowling!" Eve finished his sentence for him.

"Exactly!" He laughed and she laughed too. She liked his laugh; it was contagious. He liked her voice. It was so quiet and sweet. He felt like she was the type who would never hurt a fly and enjoyed being protected by a genuine guy like him. It was like they were a match made in heaven. He was goofy, shy at times, and genuine. She was shy, sweet, and all around genuine herself. He couldn't have ever asked for a better grocery store trip, and she was thinking the exact same thing.


	7. Chapter Seven

Lena, Carson and Eve strutted into the bowling alley and stopped in front of the desk, waiting to be assisted.

"Who did you say we were supposed to be meeting here, again?" Lena asked Eve as they waited.

"Oh, just a guy I met at the store the other day. He's bringing some friends along, too." Eve informed. "I didn't want you guys to feel like you were intervening on a date or something."

Lena chewed on the inside of her cheek as they anxiously awaited Eve's new love interest. She had a bad feeling growing in her gut about this. She could already tell something was about to happen, and she wasn't going to be happy about it.

After a few minutes of waiting, Lena heard a familiar voice shout from behind her. A ball of shock hit her stomach. It wasn't bad shock, just confused shock.

"Eve!" CC called out.

Eve turned around and smiled widely as she hurried over to CC, letting him wrap his arms around her in a generous hug, lifting her tiny frame off the ground. Compared to Eve, CC was a giant. He had to be at least half a foot taller than she was.

Lena looked over her shoulder and saw CC and Eve embracing. But when she caught a glimpse of Andy and Jake walking in behind them with Jinxx and Ashley trailing behind, she whipped her head around and stared straight ahead at the lanes on the other side of the desk.

"What the fuck are they doing here...?" She half whispered to Carson.

Carson slowly turned her head to peek over her own shoulder and then looked back at Lena. "I thought you said they had no idea where you were."

"The only person who knew where I went was CC. I don't know how the rest of them found out." Lena could feel that ball of shock turn into a knife of panic.

Carson snuck another look behind them. "Jake is staring at you." She said.

Jake bore his eyes into Lena's back, gazing at her blonde locks of curly hair tumbling down her backside. He refrained from saying anything to her, because he was afraid of the backlash he would receive.

And fell into step next to Jake and watched Lena stand there uncomfortably. He glanced at Jake, who never took his eyes off Lena. Andy couldn't bear to look at Lena after what he had done to her. He knew she hated his guts and there was no chance of ever getting her back. He didn't see the point in trying.

"Andy is looking at us now." Carson said, keeping Lena up to date on what was happening behind her back.

Lena scoffed. "Fuck Andy..." She muttered. "He's a douche bag. I never want to talk to him again."

"He's still being a douche to you?" Carson's voice had a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Andy's always going to be a dick. You need to just cut yourself off from him."

An employee finally stepped behind the desk. "Sorry for keeping you girls waiting." He said.

Lena looked up when she recognized the voice. "Derek?" She asked, staring into his eyes.

"Oh, um, hey Lena." He said shyly. It was apparent he hadn't wanted her to know he worked at a bowling alley. "So, what can I do for you?" He attempted to get the subject back on track.

"We have eight." Carson said, knowing Lena was already uncomfortable as it is having Jake and Andy in the same room with her. Adding Derek to the mix made it three times as bad.

Derek tore two pieces of receipt paper out and gave it to them. "I can only fit six on a lane, so if you want to split the group up, I can put you guys on two lanes."

Carson took the pen that was resting on the counter and started jotting down names. Lena glanced over to see what she was writing.

"Whatever you do, do not put me on the same team as Andy and Jake." Lena said.

Carson rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Carson's list went as follows:

Carson  
Jake  
Andy  
Ashley

Carson had always had her eye on Ashley ever since the band had started to get bigger. She liked his outlaw tattoo that arched across his toned abs. His lips looked like they were to die for and she absolutely melted into his chocolate brown eyes.

Lena's list went as follows:

Lena  
Eve  
CC  
Jinxx

Carson and Lena had both decided it was only fair to Eve that they keep her and CC together. Carson and Lena had rarely ever seen Eve smile that big around a guy. In high school, Eve had always been the friend that never had any luck with boys. Lena had Jake but was being torn between him and Andy. Carson was always a flirt, but was never mature enough to settle down in a real relationship. Eve just sat by and watched all the drama unveil before her eyes.

She had asked Jon Clearey in Junior year to the Sadie Hawkins Winter Formal but he turned her down because he said he wasn't going. The next day, Jess Vandermint asked him and he said yes before she could even finish her sentence.

"I'll get those right up for you." Derek said with a charming smile.

Carson took Lena over to the group, keeping a firm grip on her friend's arm. "Alright, guys." Carson announced. "We're in lanes three and four."

The group made their way over to the two lanes and all scanned the TV screens to see who was on what team. Eve and CC, holding hands, sat down together in lane three. Lena and Jinxx sat down next to them.

Carson took her team over to lane four. They all sat down, and Jake looked over at Lena, talking to Jinxx. He watched a smile form on her face. Her smile was always his favorite part of her.

"Lena, you're up!" Eve leaned over to look at Lena on the other side of CC.

"Oh," Lena stood up and walked over to the machine that held the bowling balls. She picked up a bright yellow one and fixed her fingers in the holes.

On the other side of the machine, Jake was getting ready himself. He picked up a dull green ball and fixed his fingers in the holes. Lena stood at the end of the lane and watched from the corner of her eye as Jake approached his end of the lane.

Jake looked down at the ball and then slightly over at Lena. "Hey." He said. "You look great."

Lena looked down at her own ball and then over to him. "Yeah..." She said, slowly looking back down. "Thanks..."

Jake sighed, and swung his ball down the lane, knocking down 4 pins. He walked back and picked up another, throwing it, and knocking down one.

He went to sit back down and watched Lena finish up her turn. She got a strike and the smile on her face as she jumped up and down in excitement was a look he had never seen on her face before. His breath was taken away at how beautiful she looked when she was truly happy. She never looked like that around him. And in all honesty, she had never looked that way around Andy either.


	8. Chapter Eight

Lena rested her head on her right shoulder and couldn't help but let her mind wander. She thought of how Jake and Andy were sitting right across from her at that very moment. She thought of Derek, and what he must be thinking of this whole thing; wondering who those guys were hanging out with a girl that he seemed to like much too much. She glanced up, and spotted him staring at her from across the way. She smiled slightly and he looked down at his shoes, embarrassed that he had been caught staring. When he looked up and saw she was still gazing at him, he let a small smile spread across his lips at the sight of her sitting there, legs crossed over one another, and her blonde hair falling gracefully over her left shoulder.

She broke her gaze on him when the lights turned out and the strobes and party lights starting flashing. Loud music started blaring over the speakers and mystic bowling had officially began.

"Now this is a fucking party!" CC stood up, hands in the air, exclaiming.

Eve giggled and hit his thigh playfully. Lena couldn't help but observe the way they interacted with one another. Was that what a relationship was supposed to be like? Two people who like each other with no cares in the world of what others think of them? She sighed quietly, looking down at her knees and letting her hair fall in front of her face.

"FUCK. NOT AGAIN!" Jinxx shouted and Lena's head shot up to see what had happened. Jinxx had bowled his sixth gutter ball in a row.

Everyone laughed, and Carson shot Lena a glance. Lena looked back to where Carson was glancing towards and she smiled, knowing exactly what her friend was hinting at. She rose from her seat and made her way over to the desk where Derek was busily scribbling on a piece of receipt paper to keep himself from falling under the spell of boredom.

"Hey," She said, catching his attention. He looked up into her blue eyes and a grin spread across his face. His smile caused her to smile slightly. The way he looked at her was unlike Jake or Andy had ever looked at her before. "Would you mind putting the bumpers up for us? My friend is having a bit of a hard time." She giggled slightly at the brief memory of Jinxx's swearing.

He nodded, a crooked smile playing on his lips. "Sure," he said. "Anything for my beautiful ballerina."

She blushed, turning fast so he wouldn't see her cheeks growing red, despite the darkness of the room with almost all the lights out. He followed her to lanes three and four where it was now her turn and she grabbed a ball and waited at the end of the lane as Derek put the bumpers up on either side.

She gave him a grateful smile, and he walked by behind her, resting his hand on the small of her back for a brief second before returning to his spot behind the register at the desk. She thought the small gesture had gone unnoticed but Jake glared at Derek as he walked away.

"Did you just see that?" Jake leaned over to Andy.

"What?" Andy looked up from his phone. He was deeply entangled in his game of Candy Crush Saga that he hadn't noticed Derek's small, but envious movement.

"That employee guy up there just made a move on Lena. I think she knows him." Jake said, worried.

Andy leaned back in his seat. "What, you think she's over both of us already?"

Jake wrung his hands together, looking at Lena laughing next to Jinxx and occasionally stealing glances back at Derek. "That's what I'm most afraid of."


	9. Chapter Nine

The next twenty minutes as the crew left the bowling alley were rather a blur to Lena. She remembered saying goodbye to Derek, and letting him kiss her on the cheek quickly before she followed her friends outside to the busy city street. The BVB boys all jumped into Andy's mom's car, and Lena, Carson and Eve all got into Lena's car.

Lena drove, thinking that Carson and Eve would head back to her house for a bit to have dinner and talk about everything that had happened at the bowling alley. But much to Lena's surprise, Andy's mom's sleek black Subaru pulled up behind Lena's small light blue Cadillac in the driveway of her home.

"They followed us here?" Lena whipped around in her seat to glare at Carson who just sat there smiling.

"Okay, so I invited them over..." Carson admitted. "But, can you blame me? I really like Ashley and Eve really likes CC. And we all know you missed Jake. Now is your chance to catch up with him."

Furious, Lena undid her seat belt and bolted from the car, slamming the door shut behind her. She ran up the steps and unlocked the front door before dropping her dead weight on the couch and letting out a large groan before everyone else came inside to join her.

The next thing she knew, she found herself uncomfortably sandwiched between CC and Jinxx on the couch. Eve sat on the other side of CC, Jake sat awkwardly on the arm rest of the couch, Andy sat on the ottoman with his eyes glued to his phone, Carson sat on the floor by Andy's feet and Ashley wandered around looking at the framed pictures on the mantel.

"You've been doing this for quite a long time, haven't you?" He asked, picking up a picture of four year old Lena in her bright yellow costume with big tutu and hair all done up in a perfect bun. CC stood up to get a better look at the picture.

"Well, yeah." She said, thinking back to when she started at age 3. All they had made her do was simple skips, learning the basics of pointing your toes and what first position was. It was all so simple back then. Now she was doing grande jettes, triple pirouettes on pointe, echappes, and grande battements.

"Hey, guys!" CC's voice caught everyone's attention.

Lena looked over to see him sporting Lena's fifty-six dollar rehearsal tutu around his waist. "I can be Lena!" He continued, rising onto his tip toes and circling himself with his arms raised above his head.

Everyone burst into fits of laughter but Lena just let her head drop in her hands. "You really think ballet is a joke?" She said, a bit more anger in her voice than intended.

CC stopped and unsnapped the back of the tutu, taking it off and putting back on her bag in the corner. "Sorry, Lena... I was just trying to have fun and make everyone laugh."

Lena shook it off. "No, it's okay, CC. I'm sorry. I don't know why I snapped like that." She admitted.

"But to answer your question," Ashley cut in. "Ballet is easy. I mean, all you have to do is wear a giant tutu and dance on your toes with a big cheesy smile on your face while you prance around the stage."

Lena raised her eyebrows. "You really think it's that easy?"

Ashley shrugged. "It looks like it. No one else agrees with me?" He glanced around the room but no one spoke up to defend his statement.

"Well," Lena said, standing up. "If you all think it's that easy, let's take a class together. Class starts in an hour. Let's get going."

***

Lena could already tell this was going to be a disaster but she needed these boys to understand that ballet wasn't as frilly as they thought. She dressed each of them in a pair of black leggings and gave them black socks, since they didn't have any ballet shoes. When they walked through the door of the studio, Lena inhaled deeply, missing the smell and the feel of her home away from home. Despite much of the trauma she endured here, her dance studio always felt like a place where she could be herself.

She turned around to see the boys huddling close to one another. "Let's go!" She waved them on and had them follow her up the stairs and into the studio room. As soon as she walked through the door, a group of girls ran up to her hugging her tightly. The boys just stood by and watched.

"Lena!" They all exclaimed.

Lena smiled widely. "Oh my god! You're all in this class now?" She exclaimed, excited to see that the kids she used to teach when she was a teenager had all grown up and moved on to bigger and more challenging classes. "I'm so proud of you guys!"

Lena's teacher, Erica, approached her and gave her a welcoming hug. "We're glad to have you back, even if it's just for a little bit."

As Lena pulled out of the hug, she introduced each of the guys. "I brought some friends along to try out the class." She motioned to each of them. "Jake, Jinxx, CC, Andy and Ashley."

The teacher nodded. "Nice to meet you all. I hope you have a fun time!"

As Erica dismissed them and walked over to the stereo in the corner, Lena found a place on the barre and Jake came up behind her.

"What are we supposed to be doing?" He half-whispered, looking around at all the girls standing at the barre that extended all the way around the room.

"Just put your left hand on the barre and wait, alright?" Lena said, turning her head back around to the front.

"Because Lena brought some friends with her today," Erica began to announce. "We will do military barre next week. So, what I think we'll do today is a quick barre, work on your petite allegro and adage and then power hour to finish off the class. Sound good?"

"What the fuck is power hour..." Lena heard CC say to Jinxx behind her. She giggled to herself as the music started and they began with their grande plie exercises.

"Grande plies!" Erica shouted over the music as she walked around to give corrections where needed. "Andy, more turn out!" She yelled. "Watch Lena. No gripping that barre, ladies. Fingertips only on that barre."

They had only done 4 grande piles in first position and CC's thighs were already burning. Jake had absolutely no balance and found himself holding onto the barre for dear life, despite Erica walking around and telling him otherwise. Ashley's alignment was all off, and he found he couldn't keep his upper body upright. Jinxx kept looking down at his feet, thinking that was going to help. And Andy couldn't keep his turnout.

"Where's that turn out, Andy?" She called out again, and again, and again.

During their petite allegro, all the boys had trouble with pointing their toes. "Point those toes, gentleman, you're making me cringe!" Erica shouted and all the girls around them laughed.

"Having fun?" Lena asked with a smile on her face, looking at all their pained faces. "Good, I'll take that as a yes."

"They've never done ballet before, have they?" Erica asked Lena.

Lena shook her head, resting one hand on the barre behind her. "They have no clue what else is in store for them."


	10. Chapter Ten

"Alright, before I let you go, frappes real quick." Erica announced. All the girls rushed to the barre and the boys just kind of followed because they weren't sure what else to do.

"Oooh frappes? I love frappes! Like those ones from McDonalds?!" CC exclaimed.

Lena shook her head. "No, CC. That's not what frappe means in ballet."

"Idiot." Jake playfully hit him upside the head. Jake was trying desperately to impress Lena and if that meant working as hard as he could to try and understand the terminology and perfect each step, that was what he was going to do. He could see Andy wasn't bothering to take it seriously and Jake didn't want Lena to think that he was just taking this class for granted.

After class, Jake stopped Lena just before she reached the door to the studio room. "Lena?" He asked hesitantly. "What does it feel like being in pointe shoes?"

Lena half smiled. "Pain." She said. "But I love them. There's something about pointe shoes that keeps you coming back to them. It's almost like an addiction. You know how a cutter becomes addicted to the pain they feel from their blade? It's like that with pointe shoes. You become addicted to the feeling you get from going en pointe and dancing on your toes, making it look as graceful as possible but being in excruciating pain. My shoes become my lover; my child. You definitely grow an attachment to your shoes, even though they're just blocks of glue and wood covered in satin."

As he listened to her talk, he couldn't help but notice the passion in her eyes as she talked about ballet. Dancing was truly what she loved to do and he could see it written clear as day all over her face. He wished he had taken the opportunities to see her dance when she had asked him so many times.

***

Getting to see Derek again was a dream come true but having Jake and Andy around again made things weird for Lena. It was hard to focus on just Derek now that she had constant thoughts of Jake and Andy lingering in her mind. She had moved back to Ohio for a reason, and it was to get away from them. But now they were back and everything she had been feeling in LA came back with them.

"Thanks..." She said as Derek sat down across from her, handing her the coffee she had ordered.

"How have you been?" He asked, cupping his coffee with both hands, trying to warm them from the bitter cold that had begun to take over the world outside the window they were sitting next to.

Lena shrugged. "I could be better, I suppose."

Derek furrowed his eyebrows. "Is everything okay?" He asked, reaching his hand across the table to touch Lena's cold hand.

"Yeah," She pulled her hand away. "Just... Andy and Jake are in town and I--"

"Andy and Jake?" Derek asked.

Lena forgot that Derek didn't know who they were. "Oh... My two ex-boyfriends..." She informed. "They came to visit from LA unexpectedly and my mind has just been kind of jumbled up because I really like you and want to focus on our relationship but--"

"You still have feelings for them, don't you...?" Derek assumed. "I get it..."

Lena felt guilty. She could tell she hurt Derek's feelings but she hadn't meant to do it intentionally. "Everything is just really confusing right now."

"Look, Lena," Derek began. "I really do like you, too. But exes are exes for a reason. It didn't work out with them and you have to move on. I'm sitting here right now. We're here together for a reason. Think about that."

She wanted to think that Derek was right but the thing with Andy and especially Jake was that there was so much history there. Jake wasn't just an ex to her. He was her best friend, and the only other guy she had ever dated before. Jake and her had been together for so long, it wasn't like she could just "get over" him that easily. And there was no way Lena was ever going to be able to explain that to Derek.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Winter had fallen over the state of Ohio and left the cities and towns covered in a thick blanket of snow. Lena hadn't seen Derek since the day they went out for coffee and that had been almost a week ago now. She knew he was upset but there was no way to explain the last four years of her life with Jake to Derek without hurting him any more.

In an attempt to get her mind off everything, she decided to help her mom out by shoveling the driveway, but that only made things worse. The solitude brought back memories she hadn't thought of in forever.

Being distracted by her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed Jake trudging up the driveway towards her with a shovel in his hand. "Need some help?" He called out.

Lena could feel a smile growing behind her lips but she forced it back. "What brings you over here?" She wondered.

Jake shrugged, planting the shovel into the deep snow. "We cleared out Andy's parents' driveway in about three minutes flat and I thought maybe you could use some help over here."

She peered behind Jake, looking for traces of anyone else coming up behind him. "Did you... bring anyone else?"

Jake shook his head. "Nope, just me."

"Well," Lena dug her shovel into the snow. "Let's get moving."

The two shoveled and shoveled until their backs ached and their noses were frozen to the bone. At one moment, Jake stopped to look up at Lena, hustling away and trying to clear the snow quickly. He observed the way she seemed so focused and how the tip of her nose grew pink from the cold. Her cheeks became rosy and there were traces of fallen flakes tangled in her blonde hair. He began to wonder why he had ever let her go in the first place.

When they had cleared out the entire way, Jake figured his job was done and he better head back to Andy's place.

"Where are you going?" Lena asked when she saw Jake heading back to the car sitting on the snow covered sidewalk. "Don't you want to come inside maybe? I'll make us some hot chocolate, if you want." She sounded hesitant, almost like she was speaking to him for the first time.

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, okay. I'd like that."

She reached for his hand and helped him walk up the icy driveway and to the front door of her house. They stomped all the snow off their boots and left them by the door to dry off. He followed her to the kitchen where she began pulling mugs off the shelves and prepping the milk in the microwave.

They both felt it. It felt like they were back in Jake's apartment in LA, living together under the same roof and having that same love they always had. There always had been that sort of comfort with Jake. Andy had felt more adventurous and dangerous. With Jake, they could be apart for years, and come back to one another with no change in the way they interacted or felt about each other.

"Thanks." Jake said as Lena placed his mug of hot chocolate down in front of him.

Lena walked around to the other side of the counter to sit down next to him. "I miss you." She said unexpectedly. Even she was surprised when the words had fallen out of her mouth like that so easily.

"Me too." He nodded, "I miss this. I miss... us." He admitted. "That's why I came here. And it's why you came back. Here; This town; This is where everything started. And this is where it's all going to end, isn't it?"

She began to think maybe Jake was right. Ohio was where the shit storm that tore apart her life had began. This town; their old high school; those were the places she met Jake and Andy. Maybe they had all been brought back for a reason: to finally put the high school drama to rest and grow up; to finally start acting like the adults they were.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Lena took their empty mugs to the sink and began rinsing them out under the steaming water. She looked out at the light flakes that drifted off the trees when the wind blew by.

"Let's go to the city." Jake spoke up.

Lena shut the water off and looked over at him with one hand resting on her hip and the other pushing against the ledge of the sink. "The city is like an hour away and it's already almost noon."

Jake shrugged like it was no big deal. "We can spend the night there. Rent out a hotel room or something; do take out for dinner; and just... catch up. It's been a while since we actually spent time together one on one, you know?"

Lena began to think about it. Take out in a hotel room in the city sounded ideal. She didn't really like being stuck in a small town again. Her life was too big to be crammed in this town. She was dying to go back to LA ever since she got home, but Jake and Andy were the ones keeping her from going back. She began to think that maybe if she fixed her relationship with Jake, she could go back to LA and be where she truly wanted to be.

She let a small smile slip. "Alright. Let me get my stuff and we'll go." Lena hurried upstairs to her room where she grabbed her bag and began shoving everything she would need into it. Her phone sat on the bed, and began to light up, buzzing. It was Derek.

She looked but hesitated. She hadn't spoken to Derek in over a week. She pursed her lips, took in a deep breath, and then picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lena. It's Derek." He said. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you..." He sounded apologetic.

"No, it's okay." Lena said, straightening up and folding her free arm across her chest. "What's up?"

"Well," Derek began. "I just... I don't know. What are you doing tonight? I was kind of hoping to make up for my shitty attitude the other day."

She couldn't help but begin to pace as he spoke to her. "Oh... I... I'm sorry, Derek. I already made plans with someone else tonight..."

"Oh..." The tone of his voice shifted dramatically. "No, that's cool. I understand."

Lena bit her lip. "I'm so sorry, Derek. I feel really bad now."

"No, no, don't. It's fine, really. I should have gotten to you sooner." He cleared his throat. "I better go. I'll, uh, talk to you later, Lena."

She rubbed her temple at his words. "Bye, Derek."

Derek was beginning to notice that ever since Lena's friends from Los Angeles were beginning to take over her life. She seemed to be so much more focused on them than him now and it was really starting to take a toll on him. He backed up against the wall and let his head fall back. He looked down at the flowers in his hand and sighed audibly, throwing them on the counter and walking away. Was it even worth trying anymore?

Lena had to shake her conversation with Derek out of her mind so she could focus completely on Jake and spending her time with him. "Hotel room, take out, the city, it's all good." She reminded herself.

The drive into the city seemed brief, but that was probably because Jake drove faster than a race car driver. Parking was what took up most of their time. Parking in the city wasn't even a thought, really, because parking in the city just didn't happen.

"Why don't we just go and park at the hotel that we're going to stay at tonight?" Lena suggested. "Wouldn't that just be ten times easier than circling the block again or parking in a garage?" She did feel like she was complaining a bit but what surprised her was how Jake reacted.

"You're completely right. That makes so much more sense." He laughed, agreeing with her idea.

"Do you think we can park without getting a room first?" Jake asked as they both got out of the car.

Lena shrugged. "I guess?"

"Whatever." Jake said, reaching for Lena's hand.

She wasn't objecting to his gesture, but she found it strange that after all the shit she had said and done to Jake, he could just take her hand in his like nothing had ever happened. It was as though none of it had happened at all. In Jake's mind, Andy didn't exist anymore. And that's how Lena wished it could be in her mind.

They walked a little ways, looking at all the different sights and people around them. Being in the city felt dangerous, and adventurous.

"Look!" Lena pointed to the giant pond in the middle of the park that had frozen over. There were tons of people skating or just walking on the ice. She looked to Jake with a wide smile on her face and he looked at her with the same expression.

"Let's go!" He exclaimed, running towards the pond with Lena right beside him.

They reached the edge and Jake stepped down first so he could help Lena step onto the ice as well. He held onto her tightly as they tried walking across the slippery surface.

"You good?" Lena laughed as Jake clung to her side so he wouldn't fall on his face.

Once he found his footing, he began to let go of Lena's arm. "I'm good." He assured. After taking a few steps, however, his right foot couldn't seem to grip the ground and he slipped and fell onto his ass.

Lena stood by watching, doubled over in laughter. "Jake!" She said in between giggles and deep inhales from laughing so hard.

"Um, help?" He asked, still on the ground.

"Oh, my god that was so funny!" Lena kept laughing as she extended her hand to help him up.

Instead, he pulled her down with him. She fell on top of him, still laughing, and letting her head fall onto his chest. Her hands found the ice on either side of Jake so she wouldn't completely collapse on him. "What the hell?" She asked, still smiling as she began to try and stand up.

He laughed as well as she helped him up for real this time. "I had to." He shrugged.

As they shared a laugh, and Jake watched Lena grow happier and happier as the day went on, he couldn't help but fall even more in love with her. He didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as he loved Lena, but there wasn't a single thing about her that he hated. The more he looked at her, the further he fell. The more time they spent together, the harder he fell. There was no denying that she was the only one in his life that had ever made him feel this way. It was so easy to come back to her. He slipped an arm around her waist, and she tugged on his hand, tightening his grip on her. She was his, and it seemed she was letting everyone know that as well.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Spending the night in the city with Jake couldn't have been better. But on the way home, he did something unexpected. Lena sat in the passengers seat, watching the scene pass by outside her window, when all of a sudden, Jake swerved and pulled into a rest area. He put the car in park and rested his hands on his knees. Lena looked over at him, opening her mouth to question him only to have him stop her with his own words.

"I love you. Okay? And not this high school bullshit love we had all those years ago. I love you more than that now. You're the only girl in this world that I can imagine being with until I die." He glanced up at her and then averted his gaze to the steering wheel in front of him. "I know I said I wasn't ready to marry you when you found that ring in the Triscuts box. But being away from you has proved to me that I can't make it on my own without you. How do you do when I'm gone? Do you feel the same?" This time, he looked up at her, and kept his eyes right on her. "Because I need to know if I'm sitting here pouring my heart out to you for nothing... Say something..." He finished. "I'm giving up on you."

She sat there with her mind cleared of every thought she ever had. Her brain had become a blank slate. She watched his pleading eyes bore into her own, empty eyes as he anxiously waited to hear what she had to say. What was she supposed to say? Sure, Andy wasn't really part of the equation anymore, but she still had Derek lingering in the back of her mind. She wanted to get to know him more as well.

"You kill me." Jake said before she could speak. "You know you do. You kill me well. You like it too, and I can tell."

"How could you say that?" She shot back. "I love you." She said slowly. "But you don't seem to understand what's going on in my life. I may be the only girl in your life right now, but you're not the only guy in my life, Jake." She watched as his heart started to break apart, piece by piece. "Derek is still in my life and it wouldn't be fair to just drop him like that." She sat back in her seat. "I don't know how you came here expecting me to just drop everything so we could be together again. It doesn't work like that. Relationships aren't as easy as you think they are, Jake."

"I know this isn't going to be easy, Lena." He let her name slip through gritted teeth. "I just thought maybe..."

"We're both really shitty people, aren't we." Lena said. "We only care about ourselves. If we were really supposed to love each other, we would care about each other more, wouldn't we?"

Jake nodded. "So how do we fix that?"

"You need to let me at least work through things with Derek. And I need to give you a second chance. I think once I figure things out with Derek, we can work on us. But you need to be willing to work with me on this. If you do love me, you need to let me go; as cliche as that sounds. And I love you, and I want things to work between us." Lena felt as though this was what they needed to do. In order to get out of the high school-esque drama they had been trapped in since high school, they needed to become adults and think through things rationally rather than act on stupid impulses like they had been doing for the past few years. It was only making things worse and it was becoming obvious to both Jake and Lena that they were acting like teenagers still. Jake was almost twenty-three and Lena had just turned twenty-one. If Jake really did want to marry her someday, she realized that they needed to start acting like adults.

It appeared to be a re-occuring theme in the lives of Lena, Jake, and everyone surrounding them. No one could seem to figure out how adulthood worked; they seemed to be eternally stuck in a teenage persona.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

In all the years Lena had been with Jake, she never saw him cry. And now, to see him standing outside with her on the church steps crying was the most painful experience of her life. It physically pained her to watch his body shake as tears were streaming down his cheeks. She wanted to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But every time she reached out to him, he flinched away, or yelled at her to leave him alone.

"What happened to us, Lena? Why can't we be how we used to be when we first started dating?" Jake was bringing back too many emotions and Lena could see it was destroying him.

"Jake, this is not the time to talk about this." Lena pleaded.

"No!" He shouted. "What happened to us?!" He started to cry more. "I loved you..." He sobbed. "I... I still love you."

"I love you, too, Jake, I--"

"Shut up." He said with venom in his voice. "If you loved me, then why did you leave? Why did you go off with Andy all those nights, and why did you come back to Ohio without telling me? We used to tell each other everything..."

"Jake, please." Lena begged. "We have to go inside now. The funeral is about to start."

"Fuck off, Lena." Jake hissed.

Lena took a hesitant step towards him. "You can't swear in front of a church." She said and made him smile. Seeing him smile through his tears made her smile.

"Fuck it. Whatever." He laughed, wiping away the tears under his eyes with his knuckle.

Jake observed the way her blonde bangs covered one eye and how the humidity in the air made her hair look flat, but still fall in the perfect way. He couldn't understand how he had grown to be so lucky. Lena was perfect to him in every way. She was beautiful, smart, funny, caring, and she danced. Sure, sometimes they got on each other's nerves, but he knew that he would never be able to stay mad at her forever. He needed her, in every way possible.

"What?" Lena asked when she saw the way he was looking at her. Every girl has always dreamed of the day a guy would look at her the way Jake was looking at Lena. His eyes were soft but a sensual smirk played on his lips. His lips told her she was an object of sex to him, but his eyes told her that he loved her as a person. She wasn't just a sex object to him. She was a person, and a person that he truly loved. Everything about the way she walked, to the way she talked, to the way she cared unconditionally about him was spoken through just that soft gaze of his.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "I just can't believe how lucky I am to have you back in my life."

Lena smiled, hiding her blushing cheeks behind her hair. He gently squeezed her hand, and started a fire in the pit of her stomach. His active touch, made it all so real.

He began to lean in to her, and she followed his lead. They hadn't kissed in so long, and she craved his lips on hers. Just before their lips met, a rain drop fell and plonked her on the nose. She flinched away from him at the sudden drop of water. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Now can we please go inside? Your mom wouldn't be happy with you if she knew you were missing her funeral." Lena said.

"Yeah," He reached for her hand and slipped his fingers in between hers. "Let's just get this over with."

Lena smiled weakly. "I'll be with you every step of the way."


	15. Chapter Fifteen

On the bed next to Lena's half packed suitcase sat her now ringing phone with Derek's name and smiling face lighting up the screen. Lena turned at the sound and sighed loudly. She knew she was going to have to face him sooner or later and it was going to have to be now.

"Hello?" She answered, half hoping he wouldn't be on the other end of the line.

"Hey, stranger!" He sounded cheery and that cut through Lena's heart strings. "Have you been ignoring me or are you mad at me or just been busy?"

"I'm moving back to LA." Lena blurted out without thinking.

"Oh..." She could hear the pain and disappointment in his voice. "We can at least stay friends, though, right?"

Lena swallowed down the tight lump forming in her throat. "Of course we can." She choked out as she held the tears back.

"When do you leave?" He asked.

"Tomorrow." She answered.

"Oh, good!" He surprisingly exclaimed. "Are you doing anything right now?"

Lena sat down on the bed next to her suitcase and sighed. "Well... Packing... but I'm barely doing that."

"Do you want to come over? I have someone I need you to meet before you go." He admitted.

Lena glanced over at her suitcase. She knew even after talking with Derek, she wasn't going to keep packing. "Sure, I can be over in 10 minutes." She agreed.

***

Lena hadn't even turned the car off before Derek was skipping down the front steps towards her car. He smiled widely and waved as she shut the car off and opened the door, stepping out onto the driveway.

"I'm really glad you could come over." He smiled, sounding strangely positive.

Lena pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and smiled weakly. "Yeah, no problem."

Derek motioned for her to follow him and the two started towards the front door. Derek let Lena in first and she stood at the bottom of the staircase as Derek closed the front door and looked up at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, Jessie?" He called out and suddenly Lena and Derek heard heavy, excited footsteps coming from upstairs.

Moments later, a young girl, who looked to be about maybe 10 years old, appeared at the top of the stairs. Lena couldn't help but smile when she saw the huge grin plastered across the girl's face.

The girl descended the stairs slowly, taking each step carefully and holding onto the rail with both hands. The way Derek had described his sister made Lena think that she was much younger than she actually was, and after seeing her, Lena understood why. Derek's sister, Jessie, had down syndrome.

"Hey, Jess!" Derek smiled and hugged his sister when she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Do you know who this is?"

"Pretty... blonde... ballerina!" Jessie said, struggling a bit.

"She calls you that because she doesn't know how to say your name." Derek explained. "I've tried to help her pronounce it, but she just can't seem to grasp it."

Lena nodded slightly and looked from Derek to Jessie. She kneeled down so she could be eye level with the young girl. "Hi, Jessie!" Lena smiled. "My name is Lena."

Jessie furrowed her eyebrows. "L-Le-Len-a. Lena!" She exclaimed and jumped up and down a few times when she said it. "Hi, Lena."

"Yeah!" Lena grinned and held up her hand so Jessie could give her a high five. "So, Derek tells me you want to be a ballerina just like me?" She asked.

"Yeah." Jessie said.

"Well, I live in Los Angeles. Do you know where that is?" Lena asked.

Jessie thought for a minute. "California."

Lena smiled. "Yeah! And I was thinking, if it's okay with your mom and dad, you and Derek can come visit me sometime. Does that sound like fun?"

Jessie nodded. "To go see ballet?" She asked.

"Is that what you would want to do? Maybe I can take you on the stage, too. How does that sound?" Lena suggested.

Jessie gave her two thumbs up. "Sounds good."

"Alright." Lena said. "Can I get a hug?"

"Yeah." Jessie said and fell into Lena's open arms.

"Alright, Jess, do you mind giving me and Lena some time alone? I'll come find you when she leaves." Derek said.

"Okay." Jessie said and waddled back up the stairs to her room.

As soon as she had disappeared around the corner, Derek turned to Lena with a small tear in his eye. "Thank you so, so much, Lena."

Lena shook her head as to say, don't thank me. "Really Derek, it's no problem at all."

"No, just... Thank you for being so nice to her. A lot of people aren't because of well... the downs." He said with such defeat in his voice. Lena could practically see Derek's suffering. He had dealt with ignorant, disrespectful people for ten years because of his sister's mental issues. Lena could see why he didn't like to talk about it.

Lena glanced at the time on her phone. "I have to go if I'm going to get the rest of my packing done..." She admitted. "But, once I'm settled back in LA, I'll give you a call and we can plan something for her."

Derek extended his arms toward Lena and pulled her into a tight hug. She was sure Derek hadn't completely accepted her choice to move back because the way he held onto her made it obvious that he wasn't ready to let go any time soon. She had been the one part of his life that gave him happiness and a sense of security. And now that was all going to go away.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Being back in LA was taking some adjusting. The contrast between her two homes was so drastic. One home was quiet, neighborly, and slow moving. The other was quickly paced, harsh, and loud beyond all compare.

Despite the world outside being loud and hectic, their world inside the apartment was quiet. Neither of them had spoken a word to each other since they got off the plane. Jake didn't want to stir up anything to make Lena upset and cause her to flee back home again. He had realized her emotions were touchy and striking the wrong chord with her could send them right back to the beginning again.

Jake sat in the living room, his socked feet resting on the glass coffee table, and the channels on the TV passing by like pages in a flip book. He heard the faint sound of a hair dryer going down the hallway. He got up, throwing the remote down on the couch cushions behind him and cautiously made his way down the hallway. When he peeked in the door frame, he saw Lena bent over forwards with her backside towards him. He chuckled to himself quietly as an idea passed through his mind.

He grabbed either side of her waist and thrust his hips forward, bumping her once. She shot up and turned the hair dryer off. "What the fuck?" She looked at him, trying to hold back a smile. She wanted to give off the impression she was angry about it, but secretly she did kind of find it funny.

"I couldn't help it." He shrugged, laughing.

She smacked his arm and turned the hair dryer back on. She started back on her hair as he leaned against the door frame and watched. Her hair flew in all directions around her face, making her nose scrunch up and her eyes squint.

He wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to hold her in his arms and go back to at least pretending like everything was okay. Sometimes pretending was better than reality in most cases.

She put the dryer down and looked at him through the mirror. She smiled weakly and watched as he smiled back even weaker. Their relationship had been through so much and there were so many cracks that needed to be sealed back up. But could they ever be?

Jake pushed off the door frame and walked over behind Lena. He put his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. She placed her hands over his and let her body sink into his.

"What's this for?" She wondered.

Jake took a moment before he spoke. "Because I love you." He said. "And there's no one else I could ever imagine being with."

"You mean that?" Lena asked while her minds spun with thoughts.

"If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it." Jake responded.

Lena smiled at him in the mirror and then turned to face him. She lifted her face up to kiss him lightly.

"What was that for?" He asked, mimicking her.

She smiled. "Because I love  _you_ " She answered. But in the back of her mind, she wasn't looking at Jake. She was still looking at Andy.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Taking the Metro had always been Lena's favorite thing to do. She wasn't sure what it was but there was something about the way the subway rail lines looked underground in these big arch ways that stretched on for miles that caught her interest.

She had her ballet shoes tied to her dance bag and let them hang down so everyone could see. She would never openly admit it, but she loved when people recognized her or asked her about her profession when she was on the Metro headed home.

That day, the Metro was crowded enough for her to have to stand; which she didn't mind at all, but so many people confined to one space made her uncomfortable at times--especially in a city like Los Angeles. She felt a tap on her upper thigh and looked down to see a girl who looked to be about nine or ten looking up at her and reaching for her pointe shoes.

"Are you a ballerina?" The girl asked with wide, excited eyes.

Lena smiled down at her. "Yes, I am."

"Whoa." The little girl whispered. "I've never met a real ballerina before... Daddy! Look! A real ballerina!"

Lena giggled at the young girl's reaction. "You know what, I think I might have an old pair of shoes in here that I don't use anymore. Would you want them?"

The girl nodded furiously. "Yes, of course!"

Lena opened her bag and pushed her various dance clothes out of the way to find her old pair sitting at the bottom. She pulled them out and signed the shank of the shoe and gave them to the little girl who couldn't stop smiling.

"Just be careful with them." Lena advised. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Thank you!" The little girl hugged her and then grabbed onto her dad's extended hand so they could get off at their stop.

Lena sat down as the sea of people began to thin out and took a deep sigh. After starting back up with ballet again, her whole body ached. Her toes were bleeding again, and she could feel her muscles begin to cry out in protest with every step she took.

The walk back to her apartment was one of the most challenging parts of her day until she looked across the street to see Jake and Andy sitting outside their apartment building on the couch from their living room.

Lena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and paused to stare at them from across the street. Andy was looking to the left of him and Jake was looking to the right; both oblivious to the fact that Lena was watching them from across the way.

"What...?" Lena asked herself. She looked both ways and then quickly jogged across the street before the traffic caught up. "What the fuck are you guys doing?" Lena asked throwing her hands up.

"Oh, hey Lena! Nice day out isn't it?" Andy asked, nonchalantly.

"What? No! Why is my fucking couch outside on the sidewalk?" She motioned to the two of them. "And why are you two lounging about out here?"

"Well..." Jake began. "We wanted to sit outside and wait for you to get home but the sidewalk is just so hard on our butts so we figured we would bring the couch outside so we could leisurely sit and wait for you while we enjoyed this lovely weather we're having."

Lena put her hands on her head as she tried to process what Jake was telling her. "You're telling me that you two think your tushies are too sensitive for the fucking sidewalk so you carried our fucking couch down three flights of stairs so you could 'leisurely' sit outside and wait for me to get home?"

"Ah, yep." Jake responded.

"Remind me again why I'm with you..." Lena couldn't even believe the nerve of these two.

"Because you looooove me." Jake cooed.

Lena rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Get my couch back in my living room and then we'll talk."

Andy and Jake stood up. Andy reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, dropping one into his hand and giving it to Lena. "I have a feeling you're gonna need this."

Lena let the cigarette sit between her lips as she struck her lighter. She lit herself up as she watched dumb and dumber try and maneuver the couch back in through the double glass doors of her apartment complex. As she watched Jake and Andy, she couldn't help but think how similar they were to one another. She blew out smoke between her partially separated lips. Jake was the sweet one and Andy was the adventurous one. Jake made her feel at home, and safe. Andy made her feel alive, wild and rebellious. And she began to think, maybe she didn't actually love Andy. Maybe she only thought that because she was confusing the attention he gave her with who he actually was. It was no secret that Andy was a bit of an arrogant asshole at times, especially to girls. Jake never once disrespected Lena, and they had been together all these years. She began to think that if Jake asked her to marry him tomorrow, she would probably say yes.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Lena's text tone on her phone kept going off again and again. She picked her head up off the pillow and groaned slightly to herself as she reached a lazy hand over to her phone to see what the big deal was. Unless someone was dying, she didn't care what the problem was.

Andy's name kept popping up on the screen every second but one message caught her eye:

_I'm drunk and I miss you. I need you._

Lena sat up in bed and glanced over at Jake who was sound asleep, curled up into a ball with a solemn look on his slumbering face. She pulled her knees up to her chest and began to respond to Andy's rapid fire messages:

 **Where are you?**  She asked, hoping he was at least in his right mind enough to know where he was.

 _I don't know._  He responded.

Lena rolled her eyes. **What looks familiar to you?**

_Bacon street? Mmmm bacon sounds really good right now._

Beacon St. She knew exactly where Andy was. **Just stay where you are. I'm going to come get you.**

 _Hurry_  He typed. _love you_

Lena grimaced as she stared longingly at Jake. She didn't want to have to leave his side in the middle of the night like this, but Andy was a drunken mess out on the street somewhere and she didn't want him getting into any more trouble than he already was in.

She gently draped the covers back and slipped out of bed, pulling down on her short shorts as they rode up in the back. She slipped on a pair of flip flops and hurried into the kitchen, grabbing her keys and heading out the door. Her car started with a loud roar in the still, silent garage. She pulled out onto the still busy streets of LA and began her hunt for Andy.

She couldn't believe him. Just earlier that day they had been joking around with the couch and everything seemed normal. Then, he goes and gets drunk at some random house party and starts drunk texting her like a seventeen year old girl at a college frat party texting her ex boyfriend. Lena peered down dark ally ways searching for a stumbling, lanky rock star. As she approached Beacon St, she spotted Andy sitting against the sign post gnawing on some unidentifiable object.

She pulled over on the side of the road and swiftly jumped out of her car, running towards him. "Andy!" She called out.

He looked up and smiled when he saw her jogging over to him. He hopped to his feet and took a few steps toward her.

"What the fuck are you doing out here?" She threw both hands at his chest and pushed him back.

He stumbled backward but managed to catch his balance. "I don't know..." He whimpered.

She sighed and took his hand. "Let's go."

He followed her like a lost puppy back to her car and got in on the passenger's side while she got in on the driver's side. His disoriented eyes traveled up and down her body. The cut of her loose tank top was low on either sleeve hole and the sides of her bare breasts peeked out. Andy's eyes situated themselves on her chest as she pulled the seat belt across her body.

She looked over at him. "Andy?"

He looked at her. "Sorry. Your boobs are so nice."

Lena dropped her forehead against the steering wheel. "I'm taking you home."

"No!" Andy whined. "I wanna stay with you."

"You're very drunk and you need to go home. I'm very tired and I want to go home." She explained to him.

She started the car and began to pull back onto the road. She glanced at the neon red numbers on the clock that read 2:45 AM.

They were both silent for a few moments; just listening to the sound of the pavement pass underneath them and the wind blowing in through the cracked open windows.

"I'll let you stay at my place tonight if you promise to be good and stop hitting on me." Lena compromised.

Andy shrugged. "Jake's gonna be mad at me."

Lena furrowed her brow as she pulled into the garage. "Why?"

"Because," Andy said matter-of-factly. "He's going to find out I'm in love with you."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Jake was sound asleep next to her and Andy was in the next room over, passed out on their couch. Jake was going to wake up in the morning and see a hungover Andy on their couch and wonder what happened. What was she supposed to say? That she picked up his wasted ass off the sidewalk and brought him back to their place so he could crash? She knew that wasn't going to fly with Jake and she knew deep down that Jake was still mad at Andy for everything he had done. And what had Andy meant by "Jake will be mad when he finds out I'm still in love with you"? Her mind felt like a tangled bunch of earphones that could never be undone. It was almost 4 AM and she hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep for the past two days with thinking about all this.

She rolled onto her side so her back was facing Jake. The last thing she wanted was to be looking at him . She felt guilty, but why should she? She let her weary eyes begin to close. They hadn't rested in over 48 hours and her mind was beginning to go stir crazy from lack of sleep. She drifted off into slumber and heard Jake's alarm sounding softly in the background. She was gone before she could hear him turn it off.

Jake sat up and looked over at Lena sound asleep next to him. He let his heavy hand stroke her soft blonde hair and he yawned deeply before drawing back the blankets and letting his feet make contact with the hardwood floor. He passed through the doorway of the bedroom and rubbed his eyes as he yawned one more time. Without noticing Andy, he passed by the back of the couch and headed into the kitchen. The fridge always held the same things despite his hopeful imagination that something new might have magically appeared overnight. Sighing, he closed the fridge and noticed a plastic crushed up water bottle abandoned on the side table next to the couch.

"I don't remember leaving that there..." He muttered to himself as his bare feet shuffled against the carpet. When he approached the couch, he saw a person who he wasn't expecting to be there. He furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed his eyes again, believing he must be still asleep and this was all a dream. Why would Andy asleep on his couch?

He extended a hesitant hand and started gently shaking Andy which didn't do much except get a small groan out of him.

"Lena, please..." Andy mumbled in his sleep.

Jake's foggy mind immediately cleared out and the puzzle pieces began to click into place. Andy was here because of Lena. "What the fuck?!" Jake yelled, pushing Andy off the couch and onto the floor.

A startled Andy jumped up off the floor and stared at Jake. His head began to pound and he reached up with one hand to soothe his throbbing temple. "Jake? What are you doing in my apartment?" Andy wondered.

"Excuse me?!" Jake was furious. "You're in _my_  apartment. Why are you even _in_  my apartment? Trying to steal Lena away from me again? Just when things are starting to look up for me... For us... For me and her... you have to go and screw it all up again. That's all you're good for, Andy; fucking everyone over."

Andy could feel his anger rising. Jake was yelling at him for no reason. He didn't even remember last night or how he got to Jake's apartment in the first place.

Jake's phone alarm sounding from the other room broke the two apart for a moment. Jake shook his head. "I forgot to shut off my stupid alarm..." He hurried back into his room to silence the alarm before it woke up Lena. He knew she hadn't been getting much sleep lately. He typed in his password and noticed an unread text from who other than Andy.

_Jake, I'm really drunk and I think I'm in love with Lena_

Jake dropped the phone on the bed and stormed out into the living room where Andy was now sitting on the couch, clutching his head.

"Oh, your head hurting you?" Jake asked as he approached Andy from behind.

"Yeah," Andy groaned without bothering to turn around. "I think I drank too much last night."

"You don't say..." Jake said ominously. "How about I help you make that pain go away, huh?"

The next thing Andy knew, he was pinned to the ground and Jake was throwing blow after blow to his face. He struggled against him but Jake was too strong and Andy was too hungover to fight back. He started yelling, but what good was that going to do.

[i] _"Lena, help, please!" Andy shouted but Lena couldn't see where he was._

_"Andy?" She called out to him to which he responded with more cries for help._

_Jake appeared from the shadows and cut through the dark gray fog as though he were made of knives. "Don't worry, Lena. I took care of Andy so we could be together. He won't bother us anymore, I promise."_

_"What?" Lena was confused and scared. Jake's eyes began to turn red and a devilish grin crawled across his lips. He reached for her hands and her skin burned at his touch._

_"Don't worry, Lena." He repeated, his voice becoming distorted and strange._

_"Help me!" Andy's cries for help sounded again._

_Lena looked in the direction of Andy's pleas and tried to escape from Jake's fiery grasp but he seized her again. She stared into his blood red eyes and a switch blade appeared in his fingers. The blade glinted in the light and he held the cool metal to the skin of her neck. Just as he was about to pull the blade..._

Lena shot up in bed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She could hear Andy yelling in the living room and when she looked next to her, Jake was gone. She bolted out of bed and into the living room where she saw Jake sitting on top of Andy and wailing punches on him.

"What are you doing?!" She cried hysterically. "Jake, stop!" She yelled and grabbed his arms.

He stopped, looked at her, looked to Andy, then looked at his own two fists covered in Andy's blood. "Oh my god." Realization came over him like the wrath of God and he stood up immediately. "What am I doing? This isn't me."

Lena rushed to Andy's side and helped him sit up. Luckily he was able to block some of Jake's punches and only came out of it with bruised up arms, some bleeding where his lip piercing was and busted brow but he was in much better shape than he could have been.

Lena guided Andy past Jake and to the bathroom so he could wash his face clean of the blood that was beginning to dry and cake.

"What is wrong with you?" Jake turned around to see Lena standing there with her arms folded across her chest in utter disbelief and disgust.

"Lena, I don't know what that was. I just..."

"I don't even know who you are anymore." Her words stung like a thousand scorpions. She pushed past him and ran into the hallway outside their apartment door. "And you wondered why I moved back to Ohio." She said before she slammed the door shut in his face.


	20. Chapter Twenty

"Why did I come back to this?" Lena sobbed to Carson, one arm wrapped around her waist.

" _Because you love Jake, hun. That's why you went back."_

Lena shook her head. "No, that's not why. You won't even believe what I just witnessed him do."

Lena went on to explain the whole ordeal to Carson and tried to hold back tears that were forcing their way out of her from just thinking about the horrific scene she watched. The blood caked to Andy's face, Jake's swollen knuckles, and the anger that rested on his face. It was all too much for her to take in, let alone relive through explanation.

"I need to come home." She said. "I can't be here any longer. I can't love someone who would hurt another person like that."

" _Lena, you can't keep running back to Ohio to serve as your safe haven. You live in LA now and that's where you belong. If you keep coming home, you're never going to learn how to survive on your own. You're never going to keep your amazing dance career. You have to stay in LA. I don't agree with Jake's actions either, but you can't come home."_

"Then what the fuck am I supposed to do?" Lena felt defeated and embarrassed as people walking by her on the street outside her apartment complex stared her down as they walked by. Some looked at her with pity and sympathy. Some had eyes that seemed to spit on her as though she were trash put out to rot in the alley way.

_"Go find a hotel to stay in for the time being. Don't even go back upstairs. If you don't have any money right now, just go to a coffee shop, or somewhere public that you can just sit in for the time being. Call CC and have him go get some stuff for you. Eve and I will be on the next flight out. I promise you, everything will be okay. We're gonna help you restart your life without him. Jake has proven to you over and over again that he doesn't deserve to be with someone as amazing as you. So, move on. Do you. And we'll be there soon."_

Lena hung up the phone and could feel her body shaking with anger, sadness, and most of all fear. She saw what Jake was capable of doing to Andy. What if he lost his shit again and wailed on her? Carson was right; she couldn't go back upstairs and face him again. She needed to get away.

As she started dialing CC's number, she could hear Jake's voice calling for her. Panic and fear set in and she began to walk away from the building. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to get away from him.

 _"What's up, buttercup?"_  CC answered the phone cheerfully and the sound of his sweet voice brought about a calmness to Lena's distressed mind.

"CC, just stay on the phone with me. I need to get far enough away from Jake and the apartment before I can explain."

Lena was just about at the corner of the street when Jake busted out of the front doors to the building and saw Lena hurriedly walking down the street, her phone pressed against her ear.

"Lena!" He called out.

She turned to look at him from over her shoulder, never taking the phone away from her ear. The walk signal at the crosswalk began flashing and Lena disappeared into a sea of Los Angeles pedestrians, all with somewhere to be; except Lena. She was lost in this big city and had no point of destination. All she knew was she had to get away from Jake. He wasn't okay. He wasn't safe.


	21. Twenty-One

Her mind was reeling with anxiety. The more she thought about the situation, the worse her feelings grew. Deep down, she knew this wasn't her fault but she couldn't help but think it was. She brought Andy back to their apartment. If she hadn't, none of this would have happened. But it was Jake's rage that was the problem. She had to stop blaming herself for everything that happened.

With shaking fingers, she reached for the pack of cigarettes she just bought that sat in her back pocket. She shook a stick out into the palm of her hand and placed it in between her lips, striking the lighter and inhaling a gallon of smoke into her lungs. She needed something to calm her erratic nerves. CC had told her to just wait by the subway station near this small cafe that he loves.

She blew smoke out into the air above her head and gazed up at the sky. The sun was hiding behind a cloud but the sky was the most blue she'd ever seen it in the city. It reminded her of home.

"Lena?" A man's confused, and shocked voice sounded from about 10 feet away from her.

She looked over to see a surprised Derek rushing over to her. "Derek?!" Her anxiety joined the hiding sun behind the clouds and her lips spread into a wide smile. She had never been so happy to see someone in her whole life. "What-What are you doing here?!" She flicked her cigarette out and dropped it on the concrete sidewalk, stomping on it as she hugged him. It was one of those 'I missed you' hugs; the ones where the larger person of the two wraps their arms around the other in a protective embrace holding the other person tightly against their chest. She felt warm with him. She felt home in his arms.

"I'm here on a business trip, actually!" He exclaimed, releasing their close contact but still holding on to both of her hands. He honestly never thought he would see her again.

"I'm so happy you're here." She stated, tears welling up in her eyes and reaching for his muscular trunk of an abdomen. She buried her face in his chest and tried not to let her tears stain his expensive looking oxford shirt.

He rubbed circles on her back and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Well," He began, pulling away from her. "Since I'm here, what do you say we do lunch?"

"Oh..." She trailed off. "I don't have any money on me. I--" She was about to tell him how she left the apartment in a distressed flurry but he cut her off when he started shaking his head.

"Don't worry, it's on me." He insisted. She gave him a weak smile and agreed. She was getting a little hungry after all.

They started down the street and their hands quickly found each other. His touch was gently and warm. A pool of heat welled up in the center of their contacted palms. Was this wrong? Was this cheating? She wasn't sure but she also didn't really care at this specific moment. Derek was like a piece of home that she needed in this moment. Andy and Jake were the source of most of her frustration and stress at the moment. Derek was like a breath of fresh air after being cooped up in a small room for days. So she let Derek hold her hand; she let the feeling of home was over her as his grip on her hand grew snug; she allowed herself to be happy.

Jake, in a panicked haste, burst through the doors of the apartment complex and ran down the street, pushing through groups of people with no regret or apology. He reached the end of the block where Derek and Lena had just been. He stared across the street and glared as he saw his girlfriend holding hands with another man.


End file.
